A quick post on a quick to sew dress. My husband recently passed his 30th year anniversary with his current employer, and one of his coworkers had reached 35 years. So there was a celebration dinner, with spouses, at a local restaurant. I jumped at the opportunity to sew a dress to wear to the dinner, because I don't have many activities these days where I can wear a dress. I chose McCall’s 7243, a close fitting pullover style with what I would describe as a "cape collar".
My thoughts were that the collar would bring attention up to the wearer's face, and create a more hourglass silhouette if the wearer has wider hips (comme moi). The fabric I chose is a stable sweater knit, in a poly/acrylic blend, purchased at Jo Ann Fabrics. My like of the fabric color and pattern overruled my aversion to the fact it had acrylic in it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQWyze7AVIXZPuS4cFKCQyC86m3YtKwMm-ehlRF8mKQxKqWrAbV2DHwXRXLSxuA1i2T0bzZIwmhiCdB08MCserCCE5HzLjQ0hDLz2JtIbN_qjVKfh_0jTetobTdr5EF8ACSkssxPshgmu/s400/McCall%2527s+7243+front+R.jpg) |
McCall's 7243 Front |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOt8baa-FP1l4PWGFir1ppakNYMbSqSRzn3wLBkOzvOxuxu7Mf4BHNdV498lfgaGcwT3JlCavIedcJvXyNzM0n0QdKzsmUVKTtj9_T-6CyC3HP9R7dV8-Re8qNstsoiUhl-JaXYd0CP-T/s400/dress+back+r.jpg) |
McCall's 7243 Back |
Some of you may notice that my dress's collar overlaps in the opposite direction than the pattern picture. I was cutting out the dress on the kitchen table, between meal times, when my workspace got invaded by hungry humans. The room got very hectic and I lost my concentration, forgetting to place the pattern pieces that needed to be cut out of a single layer fabric (fronts) with the correct side up. Once I realized I had done that, I had to do the same thing with the collar pattern piece. so that all pieces had the right side of fabric in the mirror image of the pattern. Also I did a poor job of checking the finished dress length before cutting out the pattern pieces. I held the front pattern piece up to my body, looked down and decided to add an inch to the bottom edge. Yes I know, not the best way to check hem length, looking down combined with bifocals. Next time I will use a mirror. When I did the first try on of the dress, I was dismayed to find I needed about 3 inches more to cover my knees. I had very little fabric left. Barely enough for a 3 inch wide hem band. So I faced the band with tricot to maximize the width. The seam where I attached the band to the dress looks very much like the topstitched hem, recommended by the pattern directions, would have.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8g5POgIrVfQ8FcZ82uOqOKhlqB3rDDaW6TS3udQw2Jr59LfrAVbfqX2rq56ysIsqK6hpdWK6DnhshjDsrxYaCABLX4EAFl1OX7YS7pQL3Re8sMt1O8xYaV27tfA6AGIoDpGTxAcDmN0-t/s320/faced+hem.jpg) |
Faced Hem Band |
I will probably wear this dress to work one more time and then cut it off at sweater length. It will get more wear as a sweater. I think View B, the sleeveless version would make a really cute summer dress.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJisevFnJ9rsk18B9qFrG00SkcDsEIBfvY1PRnU1mf-6wPAg5pZPrPNg7f7HmJW_WjBFhwZ_vNfMP_eUW0pwPrbhv2lBZc7heU1hTYhmsv5S6yC70UJ1yBUA24e5mX-zJrPqTv8e-Elmw/s640/pose+2+R2.jpg) |
McCall's 7243 |